"Two days, and this is all the information you got?"
The calm voice seemed to hide a deep well of dissatisfaction. The two bodyguards exchanged a glance, neither daring to look at Sokes, who had just spoken.
"Dispose of him. He likely doesn't know anything."
With that calm command given, the man named Sokes walked toward a dark corner of the room.
It was the blackest part of the basement; you couldn't even see where the walls met. He stopped there and spoke to the pitch-black air, "Is your witchcraft still malfunctioning?"
The two bodyguards looked confused. They didn't understand why Sokes, whom they viewed as a demon in human skin, was talking to empty darkness.
However, at that moment, the sound of dragging chains echoed from the shadows.
A tall werewolf emerged from the corner.
With a pointed snout and long ears, a wolf's head sat upon human shoulders. He walked with a hunched gait. Two iron chains were bolted to his collarbones, extending back into the darkness, presumably anchored to the wall.
The chains were long enough that they didn't pull taut. He walked out of the shadows and stopped right in front of Sokes, his blue wolf eyes fixing on the man.
"That isn't witchcraft. It is magic."
A burst of rough air snorted from the werewolf's nostrils as a deep, powerful voice slowly resonated. He spoke slowly, his enunciation slightly slurred, as if the sounds had to roll around in his throat before escaping.
"Fine, magic. When will your magic recover?"
"It never failed, so how can we talk about recovery?" The werewolf lowered his head, retorting with a hint of annoyance.
Sokes stared at the werewolf without a shred of fear. "I won't discuss things I don't understand with you. I just need you to tell me: where is the money?"
"When it is time for me to know, I will know." The werewolf turned his head, staring at the two bodyguards. This simple action made them involuntarily take two steps back.
"Mr. Ephest has only given us ten days. Three have already passed."
"Don't we still have seven days?"
The werewolf asked back disdainfully, his eyes never leaving the bodyguards. However, right after this retort, the werewolf suddenly froze, shaking his head as if suffering a headache.
This reaction brought a slight smile to Sokes' lips. After the werewolf returned to normal, Sokes asked with a grin, "You know the location?"
"Ah, I know now. Thorpe Park in London. It appeared there briefly."
It was a somewhat unexpected answer. Sokes narrowed his eyes; he hadn't anticipated this location.
"There is something shielding the magic. You don't have to believe me," the werewolf grinned, reminding him.
However, his reminder carried a tone of schadenfreude. He added, "Magic is not something a Muggle like you can imagine."
"Thanks for the reminder. But even a wizard who knows magic can't fully dodge bullets. Weren't you caught the same way?"
Sokes offered a fake thank you and turned to leave. But before exiting, he turned back to the werewolf one last time. "I'll make good use of your crystal. As a return gift... I'll leave them to you."
Bang!
The heavy door slammed shut. Amidst the panicked gazes of the two bodyguards, Sokes left the basement.
They only half-understood the last sentence, but no matter how they interpreted it, it didn't sound good. Because now, they were alone in the basement with a massive werewolf.
They had spent a long time in this basement interrogating the unlucky driver. But seeing a living, breathing werewolf walk out of the dark corner made their spines chill and their hair stand on end.
Werewolves were creatures of movies and novels. Rage and bloodlust were their synonyms.
Although the two bodyguards were ruthless men, they had never imagined being locked in a room with a real werewolf.
Fear surfaced in their eyes, but seeing the chains behind the werewolf gave them a slight sense of relief.
They immediately turned around, remembering Sokes' earlier order: dispose of the unlucky fat man.
As long as they finished the job, they could leave this terrifying basement. Perhaps the fat man would serve as food for this horrific beast.
Clatter.
The sound of chains dragging.
After Sokes left, a wolf's howl echoed in the dark basement, followed by two bloodcurdling screams.
---
Thorpe Park. Rey and Agnes had just gotten off a roller coaster.
Although wizards could fly on broomsticks, the ups and downs of a roller coaster were a completely new experience.
Both of them had enjoyed themselves thoroughly, discussing a middle-aged man in the back seat who had been scared to tears.
Adults could be very timid sometimes; they just hadn't expected to encounter one this time.
"Amusement parks are so much fun. I think every Hogwarts student should come here at least once," Agnes said, feeling inspired.
"Sure. We can invite more friends next time," Rey vowed, patting the Undetectable Extension Charm bag at his waist.
He had spent a fortune on this bag in Diagon Alley. Its internal space was vast enough to hold the entire shipping container full of money. With this cash, Rey could naturally boast; treating every student at Hogwarts wouldn't be a problem at all.
"You're not short on money anymore?"
Agnes asked curiously. Rey was an orphan, and orphans were rarely flush with cash. She had originally brought money with her, but Rey had paid for everything today, which had surprised her.
"Not short at all. If I told you I'm a billionaire now, would you believe me?"
"I believe you. I trust you wouldn't lie to me."
Agnes smiled and answered, then added, "Mr. Billionaire, I want cotton candy."
"Done. No problem," Rey answered crisply. He jogged over to a vendor and bought two super-sized cotton candies.
Rey was technically just a child right now, so there was nothing embarrassing about eating cotton candy.
Just as the two were happily eating their sweets, the roar of a helicopter came from the sky.
The helicopter wasn't flying high; at this altitude, one could clearly see the people inside even from the ground.
The roaring of the propeller immediately attracted the attention of everyone in the amusement park. People stopped and looked up, wondering why a helicopter was here and flying so low.
Rey and Agnes glanced at it but didn't pay it much mind. they were planning to go ride the hot air balloons next.
However, with the helicopter circling the park, riding a hot air balloon felt a bit unsafe. But for two people who knew magic, safety was always in their own hands.
---
There were five people in the helicopter. Besides Sokes and the pilot, there were three others.
Sokes held a rectangular crystal strip, about the length of a finger, in his hand. While looking down at the amusement park, he kept a constant watch on the crystal.
After flying for several minutes, one side of the crystal strip suddenly emitted a hazy gray light.
"Go to the hot air balloon area over there."
Sokes gave the order, and the person beside him immediately relayed it to the pilot. But just as the pilot adjusted the direction and prepared to move, the crystal strip returned to normal.
I don't get it!
He frowned tight, then relaxed.
The crystal in Sokes' hand was a magical detection item. Within the hijacked money, there was a magical tracking device that could be located within a certain range.
A whole truckload of pounds should logically be in a fixed location.
That location might have been the hot air balloon area of Thorpe Park. But this intermittent signal was incredibly frustrating. Magic, usually so mysterious and unfathomable, seemed to be malfunctioning now that he was using it.
"Damn magic. I hate that werewolf wizard."
Sokes cursed under his breath, then ordered the helicopter to land on the outskirts of the hot air balloon area. With balloons constantly lifting off, flying directly in would be suicide. It was better to go on foot.
However, not long after the three men entered the balloon area, the gray crystal lit up again. But this time, the glowing side pointed toward the water park—the opposite direction of the balloons.
"The target is moving!?"
Sokes exclaimed in shock, a look of disbelief on his face. But he quickly calmed down.
Among the four billion pounds, a thin strip the size of a banknote had been placed inside one of the stacks of money. That was the tracking device.
Now that the target was moving, there could only be two results. Either the stack of money with the strip was being carried by someone, or...